My Shoulder Season

Most of us have seen William Goldman’s wonderful movie The Princess Bride. Remember the scene where Buttercup and Prince Humperdinck marry? The high priest drones out the word maaaaw-ridge. That’s the voice I hear uttering the words daylight savings time.

True: that first night you get an extra hour of sleep (unless your dogs want to be fed at 4:30 AM instead of 5:30) and you supposedly get an extra hour of daylight each day, but for me daylight savings time ushers in my shoulder season.

Shoulder season is a term used in the travel industry. It’s the time between peak travel and the slowest. It’s when you can score a good deal on airfare and lodging, but you must be tolerant of inclement weather and restaurants closed for the season.

Here in Montana, my shoulder season arrives in late October/early November and consists of brooding skies, see-your-breath mornings, and that harbinger of winter—the first snowfall. I admit, when I look out my window and see a vision that would have sent Currier and Ives into a creative frenzy, I see the beauty. That blanket of virgin snow glitters and softens the clatter of our world, but it also stiffens arthritic joints. When so many have lusty visions of shushing down slippery slopes at lightspeed, I envision slipping on ice and fracturing something outside the Town and Country grocery store. It is, however, unfair to only bad mouth Montana. When I lived in sunny California my shoulder season hit at the same time in the form of 90-degree days that melted my Halloween jack-o-lantern and reduced my Christmas tree to kindling in its first week of adornment.

Of course, I pride myself in being a survivor, so I have learned to give my shoulder season a shot in the arm. Rather than tumbling in the snow or into that pit of despair (another Princess Bride reference) I light up the dark with candles and twinkly lights. I bake something spicy and aromatic. I listen to piano sonatas and when no one is around a good dose of Christmas classics on Spotify. I sip chai tea and flip through those unrequested mail-order catalogs suggesting I gift someone I love with a portable foot spa, a doggie treat Advent calendar, or a custom photo-op jigsaw puzzle. These and the faux-down comforter that soothes me into a long winter’s nap get me through…and thank goodness.

Because right around the corner, the old north wind is a blowin’ and with it comes high season…the holidays.

Are you ready?